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Let the games begin… again! Netflix is giving everyone a Halloween treat by unveiling a Squid Game Season 2 teaser trailer that pulls us back into a deadly game filled with greed, deception, and scathing social commentary. The new video was unveiled to thousands of fans at Lucca Comics & Games, Europe’s biggest Comic Con, and offers a glimpse at a very different Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae). His always-optimistic disposition has been replaced with a hardened demeanor following the horrors of the previous games. Despite the lasting emotional scars, Gi-hun is on a desperate mission to expose the deadly truth of the competition. But will his fellow players heed his warnings — or blaze their own dangerous path?

Today’s Squid Games Season 2 teaser confirms that one benevolent force controls the competition, the mysterious Front Man, played by Lee Byung-hun. His actual motivations remain a mystery. Still, he isn’t afraid to kill with abandon as contestants fight for survival and a chance to emerge victorious with an oversized piggy bank filled with cash.

Squid Game Season 2 presents a wrinkle to the original formula. Part of the new rules involve contestants voting on whether to continue the game at their peril or walk away with the prize split among them. We know how dangerous the Squid Games are, but do you expect everyone to walk away with a fraction of what they could win? In this economy?

Squid Game, Season 2, teaser
Squid Game, Netflix, Season 2

Here’s the official synopsis for Squid Game Season 2 courtesy of Netflix:

“Three years after winning Squid Game, Player 456 gave up going to the States and comes back with a new resolution in his mind,” reads the official Season 2 synopsis. “Gi-hun once again dives into the mysterious survival game, starting another life-or-death game with new participants gathered to win the prize of 45.6 billion won.”

It’s confirmed that some familiar faces will return to the Squid Game cast, including Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-jun, and Gong Yoo. Impeccable newcomers Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Lee Jin-uk, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Choi Seung-hyun, Roh Jae-won, Jo Yu-ri, and Won Ji-an will all appear in Squid Game Season 2 as an ensemble of colorful new characters.

What do you think about the Squid Game Season 2 teaser trailer? Would you participate in the deadly game? How long do you think you would survive? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Netflix’s Squid Game Season 2 teaser trailer finds the past repeating itself while raising the stakes for new players appeared first on JoBlo.

Louis-dreyfus snl

With its 50th season currently airing, Saturday Night Live has seen its share of ups, downs and humiliations. It, too, has seen well over 150 cast members take the stage throughout its history, and that includes plenty that you either forgot about or had no idea were even on SNL. We’re talking people like Gilbert Gottfried, Laurie Metcalf, Joan Cusack, Julia Louis-Dreyfus – you probably could have guessed these were all in the ‘80s…Far removed from her brutal days on SNL in the mid-’80s, Louis-Dreyfus remembers where it all started – and not in a good way.

Appearing on the Wiser Than Me podcast, Julia Louis-Dreyfus recalled being spotted at a Chicago-based theater and being invited, along with what she called fellow “complete and total unknowns”, to perform part of the show in New York. Unfortunately, the setting and circumstances didn’t lend to the environment Louis-Dreyfus and company were used to – and neither did the New York state of mind. As Louis-Dreyfus recalled, they were “under fluorescent lights in the middle of the day in front of 20 very cynical, unfriendly SNL cast members and writers who already hated us because a bunch of their best friends had just been fired to make room for us.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus would – along with Gary Kroeger and future husband Brad Hall – join SNL for its eighth season in 1982, with Louis-Dreyfus sticking on for three seasons. But that moment under those awful lights cast a shadow over her entire SNL stint. “We never had a chance. Sketches that had killed in Chicago died a terrible, terrible death that day. It was excruciating. I think that humiliation influenced our whole SNL experience for the next couple of years, to tell you the truth…I’ve learned a lot since that cringy day in a carpeted office on the 17th floor of 30 Rock.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus would have her final SNL episode as a cast member in 1985, leaving the show alongside the likes of Martin Short, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Jim Belushi. The host of that final episode was sports announcer Howard Cosell, just to give you an idea of where Saturday Night Live was at the time. Despite her rough go in Studio 8H, Louis-Dreyfus would return to host SNL a total of three times. And she’s done fine elsewhere, too…

Have you seen any episodes of SNL that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was on? If so, how do you think she did, considering?

The post Julia Louis-Dreyfus explains why her SNL days were doomed appeared first on JoBlo.

Gladiator II, CBS

Are you not entertained? You will be when CBS debuts a special presentation for Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated sequel, Gladiator II. On Thursday, the network announced The Making of Gladiator II, premiering on CBS at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on Monday, Nov. 18, and also streaming on Paramount+.

Produced by Paramount Pictures, this in-depth presentation of Scott’s return to the ring gives viewers unprecedented access to the film’s elaborate production, larger-than-life sets, including a reconstruction of Ancient Rome, to characters, combat training, costumes, historical accuracy, scoring, and more! The Making of Gladiator II allows you to shadow Ridley Scott as he works to create one of his most ambitious films.

Considering Gladiator II cost an estimated $310 million to produce, juicing audiences up for the sequel is a fantastic move. The Making of Gladiator II brings potential viewers closer to the action, revealing Scott’s tricks of the trade, movie magic on a grand scale, and the hard work of the film’s cast and crew. There’s something special about seeing how the cinematic sausage gets made. As someone who’s attended his fair share of set visits, I know there’s nothing like seeing how the cinematic sausage is made. Getting a behind-the-scenes look at a film can paint the project in a completely different light as you witness the artistry first-hand and hear stories from the cast and crew.

Here’s the official synopsis for Gladiator II from Paramount Pictures, who are releasing the film on November 22, 2024:

From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.

Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Senzel Washington, Derek Jacobi, Joseph Quinn, and more.

Will you watch The Making of Gladiator II on CBS before the November release? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post CBS enters the arena this November with The Making of Gladiator II appeared first on JoBlo.

Witchboard remake

Writer/director Kevin S. Tenney’s 1986 horror classic Witchboard (watch it HERE) is getting the remake treatment couresty of director Chuck Russell, who was bringing us the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and the remake of The Blob back in the days when Witchboard was gathering its earliest fans. The Witchboard remake doesn’t have a release date yet, but JoBlo’s own Tyler Nichols was able to watch it earlier this year (you can read his review at THIS LINK) and talk to Russell and star Madison Iseman about it (you can watch the interview HERE), so hopefully it won’t be much longer before more of us have the chance to see the movie. Highland Film Group has just come on board to handle the international distribution rights – and while they prepare to launch sales at the American Film Market, a new image from the film has been unveiled. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.

According to Deadline, Russell intends to go beyond the original Witchboard IP “with a deeper storyline, high intensity scares and imaginative visuals”. As such, the screenplay he has written with Greg McKay sounds quite different from the original film. Here’s the synopsis: Emily, her fiancé Christian and a group of their friends open an organic café, refurbishing an old carriage house in New Orleans’ French Quarter. But a darkness descends over Emily when she discovers an ancient pendulum board, once used to summon spirits. Christian seeks help for Emily from occult expert Alexander Babtiste, but Babtiste has secrets of his own, knowing the fateful bloodlines that binds them all to the Witchboard. A modern coven of White Witches, a masked ball at Babtiste’s mansion, and the legacy of Naga Soth, the Queen of Witches, are all part of a dangerous game that puts Emily’s very soul at risk.

The film stars Madison Iseman of the short-lived I Know What You Did Last Summer TV series, Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), Antonia Desplat (Shantaram), Charlie Tahan (Ozark), and Jamie Campbell Bower, who caught a lot of attention last year for playing the villainous Vecna in season 4 of Stranger Things.

The Witchboard remake is an A-Nation Media production, and Russell and McKay are producing the film with Kade Vu and Bernie Gewissler. Eric Schiermeyer, Sarah Buxton, John Paul Isham, and Walter Josten serve as executive producers. Although the film is set in New Orleans, it was shot in Montreal.

The original Witchboard, which is one of my all-time favorites, had two sequels that followed different characters and featured different evil spirits. The main connection between the films was the presence of a Ouija board. Russell’s Witchboard seems separate enough from the original that it might as well be considered Witchboard 4, even if it switches out a Ouija board for a pendulum board. And I’m definitely interested in seeing a Witchboard 4 that’s directed by Chuck Russell.

Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser had this to say about the movie: “Witchboard is a chilling new take on a beloved horror classic. With slick looks, it’s a nod to the practical effects driven horror movies of the late ’90 and beyond.” Highland Film Group COO Delphine Perrier added, “Chuck Russell has expertly crafted a gripping and tense horror thriller that pulls its audience into the intoxicating dangers of the supernatural.

Are you interested in the Witchboard remake? Take a look at the new image, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

Witchboard remake

The post Witchboard remake directed by Chuck Russell unveils a new image appeared first on JoBlo.